Leopards and Lions – What is the Deal With Those Leopard Qualities?
In The Leopard Points (and I don’t think that it is a book in the least), Pat Summerson points out the many positive characteristics of the leopard to those seeking to enhance their own lives, even if they don’t have a “Leopard Points.” For starters, the leopard possesses a strong, determined personality with a tenacious devotion to his cause. He is not easily impressed and doesn’t readily believe someone else’s preoccupation with him. This, combined with his superior intellect, allows him to be more focused in his work than any other cat. He can be a bit cold and aloof, but he will become fiercely loyal to his mate and devote himself to her until death.
Tom (by the name of Going to) was a Chinese who emigrated to Britain in the later part of the nineteenth century. Although he was able to find work as a clerk in London, his heart remained with his native China, and he took no further educational training. It was while studying in China that he learned the language, and it was this language that would give him the insight into writing that he then employed in his two most famous books, The Talented Tiger and The Eternal Chapter. His studies of both languages enabled him to learn that the Chinese regarded the character of the tail that accompanies a cat’s fur to be one of his most prized qualities. He studied that art extensively, and translated each character separately and phonetically, thus transforming each character into a unique word.
According to Pat Summerson, Gon Na “transforms” the character of the leopard when he combines the two into his unique personality. This transformation is the basis for all of the leopard qualities that are present in Going to. His work is profoundly insightful, always insightful and always beautiful, and I feel that his legacy lives on in the work of his descendants.